Groupize Solutions Closes an Additional $2 Million in Series A1 Funding from Strategic Partners Including Thayer Ventures and Golden Seeds

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2013 PhocusWright Winner Changing the Way Hotels Book Small Group Business - Will Expand its Sales, Operations, and Product Development; and Recruit Top Talent

Boston, MA (PRWEB)August 21, 2014

Groupize, Inc., announced that it has secured an additional $2 million in Series A1 funding, from strategic partners including Thayer Ventures and Golden Seeds. With over $4.5 million in funding, the company’s revolutionary group booking and management platform is gaining rapid traction, with more than 8,000 hotels and several travel web sites currently using its cloud-based solution. The additional investments will grow the sales organization, support the growing customer base and accelerate the launch of Instant Book Capabilities for Small Groups.

Thayer Ventures is a Venture Capital firm that invests exclusively in technology companies that focus on the travel and hospitality industry. Representing more than $10 trillion in annual global economic activity, the space is thriving with entrepreneurial activity, and disruptive change is altering the dynamics of the travel business forever.

"Groups are 30% of the hotel industry's revenues, and we saw how Groupize Solutions transformed the Small Group Business space for some major chains, increasing their conversions by 15-fold, and automating expensive and unproductive tasks," said Jeffrey M. Jackson, Managing Director of Thayer Ventures. “The Groupize approach is perfectly complementary with cloud-based solutions that other companies in our portfolio are offering hotels to drive business in the online world. We are excited about their future.”

Golden Seeds is an investment firm that pursues above-market returns through the empowerment of female entrepreneurs and the people who invest in them. The organization’s angel network is one of the largest and most active in the US. In addition, the organization’s venture capital arm has over $30 million under active management. Golden Seeds Managing Director and Groupize Board Member, Gail Hoffman, views this latest round of funding as another important validation of Groupize’s business model and success. “Thayer Ventures will be a valuable part of Groupize’s continued growth,” says Hoffman. “Their funding, experience, and commitment to Groupize’s future will help ensure that the company realizes its goal of revolutionizing automated, streamlined hotel bookings for leisure and business groups.”

Charles de Gaspe Beaubien, President and CEO of Groupize, noted that the company was not planning on taking additional investments, but opted to accelerate the development and adoption of the company’s products. "Our existing syndicate of investors, from Golden Seeds and Launchpad, and now Thayer Ventures, has provided the resources we need to drastically change how small groups are booked in the hotel industry. The marketplace demand for our solutions is timely, as the industry is now focusing on this important segment, and we want to maintain our aggressive development roadmap to bring true solutions to the industry while continuing to be the leaders in online group travel."

As part of its expansion, the company opened a second office in downtown Boston, will also recruit top development talent, and bring its innovative capabilities to broader markets to meet high demand for its Groupize GBE (Group Booking Engine), the industry’s most powerful group-booking and management platform for independent properties, hotel groups and affiliate web sites.